I often see posts in which no Answer has been offered as such, but the user's problem was solved using advice which appears in the comment section (or in extreme cases in the extended discussion in chat) of the post.

This is mildly upsetting, because there's nothing at the scrolling-list level to indicate the post has a successful resolution. So it reflects badly on the stats (unanswered questions), and future users are likely to click elsewhere when the answer is available there.

The obvious (impossible) solution is to contact the advice-giver and make them present the helpful advice as an official answer. And then, of course, go ride after the user who posted and tell them to go accept it.

More than once I've posted an answer, made obsequious motions of gratitude to the actual answers -- "See the comment! Please return, T-Pony, and get the credit you deserve!" -- and of course kept the secret hope that maybe I'll scrounge an upvote (or two) by accident.

Sounds good. Where do I find that, by the way? The Help link took me to stackoverflow.com/help/privileges/edit-community-wiki, but that doesn't include a link. Is it a click-red-shoes thing? Snark snark. Sorry, but really, I don't quite see how to get there. Humiliating, really.
– SmandoliApr 21 '14 at 22:37

6

It's the checkbox near the lower right-hand corner of the edit window.
– Robert Harvey♦Apr 21 '14 at 22:37

Why does it have to be Community Wiki?
– Simon KuangApr 23 '14 at 22:44

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@SimonKuang: Because it's not your work. If you don't CW it, people will likely downvote you anyway.
– Robert Harvey♦Apr 23 '14 at 22:44

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@Smandoli I think the threat to "steal" the answerer's reputation will motivate answers as well.
– Simon KuangApr 23 '14 at 22:44

6

This is the ultimate solution, but if the question is relatively recent you should probably follow pennstatephil's answer and leave a @ comment with a reminder to re-write the final solution as an answer, so the correct person has a chance to get the credit. I often leave comments with suggested solutions because the question wasn't clear and I don't feel like writing up a full answer until I'm sure that I'm solving the right problem. (And sometimes the final solution is more worthy of a "close as trivial" vote than a full answer, as Jonathan Leffler notes in comments above.)
– AmeliaBRApr 26 '14 at 0:10

This community wiki box is a highly underpublicized feature. (Well, maybe I'm saying that because I didn't know about it, and the universe revolves around me.) Either way it is the solution to one of my SO pet peeves: answers in comments. I just used it here for the first time. Yay!
– Jean-François CorbettApr 28 '14 at 8:00

This has been so helpful. I've come across dozens of recent questions with no answers (other than in comments) that could benefit from this solution. Is this still the recommended way to do this? I'd do this in a heartbeat if this didn't generate consternation from the community.
– Michael GaskillJun 8 '16 at 21:42

1

Does this still apply if it is your own question with no answer? I had my question answered in the comments, should I answer it myself, or answer it and convert to a wiki? Example
– Matt LishmanJul 8 '16 at 7:46

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That would work, but is a waste of someone's time. Wouldn't it be better to flag the answer in the comments and for the culprit to receive a penalty? Answering questions in comments almost guarantees that the question will remain unanswered.
– underNov 14 '16 at 22:45

1

@smileycreations15: Because it's not yours.
– Robert Harvey♦May 11 at 15:40

I've wished on a few occasions to be able to provide an answer "on behalf" of 'user_X' based on their comment to the question that was the correct solution. I don't want the credit, I just want to ensure that there is an answer that I can vote on (without stealing credit from 'user_X') and to also be nice and ensure that 'bad_boy_Y' doesn't come along and spot the obvious answer, provide it word for word, and take all the reputation credit.

An option for a ~20k+ user to convert a comment into an answer (ownership maintained) would be really cool... especially if the original comment converted to say...

This comment has been converted into this answer (that would actually jump to the answer)

As it would be really nice if the person that did the sleuthing work to solve the problem in the comments got the credit for the answer.

can you convert this answer to a feature request? I'd vote for it :)
– eisApr 22 '14 at 14:15

2

That would be a nice addition, but it would probably be too much work for the people who maintain the site, for too small a benefit. At least this way, you're providing credit to the comment-giver, and if he/she decides to answer, you can take down your answer (if you're strong enough to resist the temptation of more rep).
– trysisApr 22 '14 at 14:23

The idea of converting comments to answers is nice is principle, but I'm not sure how often it would be practical. Generally I find that when questions end up answered in comments it is a series of comments and back-and-forth with the OP, rather than one single comment that solves it all.
– AmeliaBRApr 26 '14 at 0:01

4

So which comment did you steal this answer from?
– daveApr 27 '14 at 12:25

4

This opportunity should also be given to the person asking the question.
– Samuel ÅslundOct 13 '14 at 15:20

@scunliffe: see AT eis request. would you do it or not?
– serv-incMay 3 '15 at 8:43

@user1587329 I certainly can... I'm just not sure if it would be "worthy" enough to be considered.
– scunliffeMay 4 '15 at 13:14

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If user_X is silly enough to write the answer in the comments or too lazy to write a full answer, I say let bad_boy_Y go for it. The end result is that googler_Z gets their problem solved.
– SuragchJun 18 '15 at 11:22

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@Suragch in certain cases yes... but if the comments went back and forth to get to the root of an issue, then I feel the commenter that tried to help, dug into the issue, and worked out a solution deserves some credit.
– scunliffeJun 18 '15 at 14:33

1

Generally the person posting answers as a comment have strong reasons to do so; e.g. not being able to spend enough time writing a full fledged one, not being 100% certain etc. Converting them to answers could annoy (often high rep) users and if it is done, it should be done with utmost care. Maybe provide feedback to said user with an [edit] / [commons wiki] / [revert] set of buttons?
– Maarten BodewesFeb 20 '17 at 22:20

Answer your own question but give credit to the person/s that left the comments, I have done that in the past when I received the answer I needed from two different people in the comments, I just answered my own question, copied the answer from the comment and gave creidt to the people that posted the comment.

Agreed. But I was interested in dealing with posts by others.
– SmandoliApr 22 '14 at 17:16

Yeah I think the response by @scunliffe was the best but until they implement such a feature (if they do) then I think this may be the best way to do it.
– TristanD27Apr 23 '14 at 8:50

@Smandoli It should apply also to question of other users. You could just answer the question but give credits to the commenter. Making the answer a community wiki and giving credits to the original commenter sounds maybe like the best option.
– TrilarionApr 28 '14 at 7:46

A comment that answers a question usually contains the key parts of an answer, but there's almost always additional detail that could be included. Go ahead and answer the question, but make sure you take the time to do a thorough answer. This of course assumes that the person who wrote the comment has had sufficient time to decide whether they want to answer it (Give them at least a few hours).

That way you are really contributing to future seekers of the question, and not just copying someone else's answer.

Usually when I find it, the Asker has already validated the comment/answer, and there is nothing to add. In any case bad_boy_y has difficulty regarding this Answer as an actual answer.
– SmandoliApr 24 '14 at 16:32

1

I would go this route, assuming there's real value add in giving an answer at all. Anything small enough to fit in a comment can probably be expanded upon to make a much more useful answer. Just make sure you give credit, with something like "Expanding on a comment from Bob (<insert bobs commenr=t here>), blah blah blah".
– paxdiabloNov 15 '15 at 14:24

From what I can see the reason why is that it is safer for score to answer in the comments. If you answer in the answers section, it can get down voted, even if it is the right answer. So because of this it would seem people avoid answering.

No, you get downvoted for posting incorrect answers or badly written ones.
– CodeCasterNov 12 '17 at 20:57

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and look a down vote, for disagreeing, but you cant get down voted because you hide in the comments. This is exactly why people avoid answering in the answer section. I have answered questions before where the OP accepted it and I got down voted by someone else, so if that thought is there it is much safer to just answer the question via the comments then I would think that is why people will do that.
– KyoujinNov 12 '17 at 21:11

There's little risk to posting answers anyway since you can just delete them.
– LuminousNutriaAug 17 at 3:07